Republicans, reach for your anti-nausea pills. The world has at last seen the royal baby, and simultaneously exclaimed “Nawwwwww”.

It's such a special time. I think any parent will know what this feeling feels like.

After a day of family visits (and a first nappy change, performed by Prince William), the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge emerged from St Mary’s Hospital in a blaze of camera flashes to display the third in line to the throne (name as yet unannounced).

"He's a big boy": William and Kate show off their new son. Photo: Getty Images

They had a brief chat to the cameras, then William got behind the wheel of their Range Rover with Kate and the baby in a seat in the back, and they drove off.

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The couple agreed they were still “very emotional”, but disagreed over which one the baby resembled more, William saying “he’s got her looks, thankfully” but Kate saying “no I’m not sure of that”. William added that the baby had way more hair than him.

“It’s such a special time, I think any parent will know what this feeling feels like,” said Kate, just over a day after giving birth but with the benefit of a day’s rest, a gleaming smile, a designer dress and the attendance of the household hairdresser to prepare for the public reveal.

The new prince: the unnamed son of William and Kate. Photo: Getty Images

“Very special,” Williams added.

The baby prince himself lay quietly, eyes tight shut against the glare of the media spotlight.

But there was a hint he hasn’t been quiet the whole day.

New baby: Kate hands her son to William. Photo: Reuters

“He’s got a good pair of lungs on him that’s for sure,” William said. “He’s a big boy, he’s quite heavy. But we are still working on a name so we will have that as soon as we can.

“It’s the first time we have seen him really so we are having a proper chance to catch up.”

They confirmed that the baby had arrived later than expected, and William gave a guarded plea for the media to keep their distance.

Baby's first throne: Prince William places the Prince of Cambridge into a car. Photo: AP

“I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s a bit older,” William said. “Hopefully the hospital and you guys can all go back to normal now and we can, you know, look after him.”

The appearance was greeted by a huge media pack and a crowd of screaming, flag-waving well wishers (many of the flags had been provided by The Sun newspaper, never one to miss a branding opportunity, and carried its logo).

Shortly before the appearance a man on a bicycle tried to disrupt proceedings with a megaphone, asking the crowd “what on Earth are you doing?” and hectoring them to “look for your own inner child” instead of pandering to a royal who would “grow up to believe he’s better than other people”.

Crowds of well wishers gather to get a glimpse of the new prince. Photo: Getty Images

However he was led away by police and replaced by the gathered staff of the hospital, who were much better behaved.

In a statement, the couple said they wanted to reiterate their thanks to the hospital for the care and treatment they had received.

Earlier, the couple were visited by Prince Charles and Camilla, as well as Kate’s parents.

The couple drove off to Kensington Palace, close to the hospital, where they were expected to spend at least one night before heading out of London to a destination as yet unannounced.